Combined carrying case and stand therefor



p 1949. w. s. TULOWIECKI 2,481,264

COMBINED CARRYING CAS E AND STAND THEREFOR Filed Jan. 24, 1946 INVENTOR Mil/am G. Tu/ovw'ec/f/ ATTO R N EYS Patented Sept. 6, 1949 UNITED-STATES PATENT OFFICE COMBINED CARRYING CASE AND STAND THEREFOR William G. Tulowiecki, Buffalo, N. Y.

Application January 24, 1946, Serial No. 643,022

' 6 Claims.

This invention relates to a combined carrying case and stand therefor and is particularly suitable for musicians, salesmen and others requiring a portfolio in which to carry their material and a stand on which'to. support or hold the same while in use or when on disp ay, and al the present invention ,isespecially adapted for and in the above capacity, it nevertheless has a wider range of use and may be employed in the ofiice or home, or wherever it is desired to carry or support articles in a convenient manner.

It has heretofore been proposed to provide a display stand which may be dismantled and carried Within a portfolio or case when desired, but the prior constructions have been rather impractical due to the extensive reconstruction necessitated incidental to their use.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide a novel and practical carrying case having an inclosed structure which may be readily extended and used as a stand for supporting and displaying the contents of the case in a facile manner.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a carrying case of simple design and one simulating a standard portfolio or brief bag but containing a permanently associated stand erectable to cooperate in an efiicient manner with the covers of the case in providing a practical display rack and at the same time afford a light weight portfolio to be used as a carrying case when occasion demands.

These and further objects will manifest themselves more clearly as the following description progresses, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, wherein;

Fig. 1 is a view showing the invention in use as a display rack;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view through the stand containing chamber of the carrying case;

Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the carrying case, a portion of the stand containing chamber thereof being broken away to more clearly show the arrangement;

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic illustration of a slightly modified construction; and I Fig. 5 is a detailed sectional view about on line 55 of Fig. 4. 7

Referring more particularly to the drawing, the

2 carrying case which is preferably in the nature of a brief bag or portfolio comprising a pair of hinged cover sections l and 2 hingedl connected as at 3 to the longitudinal edges of the centrally located body plate 4 in such manner that when the covers are fully opened they will .extend in opposite directions from the body plate to form a, rack or table for supporting articles such as books, music'sheets, and merchandise for display and the like. When the covers are in their rack forming. position they may be given added, support. by a suitable means such asa stay member l5v pivotally connected at l to one cover and detachably engaging a pin 8 on the other cover. When in. their closed or case forming position, the coverswill be secured by suitable means such as. the. well known flexible slide fastener generally indicated at 9, the handles I!) being conveniently provided, when desired, for carrying the case.

Beneath the body plate 4 the carrying case is formed with a storage compartment or chamber H in which is housed a. foldable support or stand which preferably is constructed light weight and collapsible in a. manner similar to the well known music stands. Accordingly, the stand will have a standard composed of telescopic sections 1.3, M and 15, the base section [5 carrying the'extensible legs l6. which are adjustablyretained by a supporting spreader I l secured in a fixed position by the set screw it. The sections 13 and l4 may be extended and secured in adjusted positions by the set screws l9 and 29], respectively. The stand is preferably connected in a perma nent manner to the carrying case, as by having the car '21 on the topmost section: 13 connected to the car 22 on the under side of the body plate 4. This connection may be of a pivotal nature as provided by a clamp screw generally indicated at 2'3. By loosening the clamp screws the stand maybe collapsed and folded into the compartment H .as indicated by the broken lines 24in Fig. 2. When the stand is to be erected; the collapsed support may be swung downwardly and distended to the predetermined extent for sup porting the mal: or table i,. 2, 4 at the desired height, such adjustment being secured by tight ening the set screws 18., 1-9 and 20 and the clamp screw 23.

Inv order to provide a balanced stand formation, the rack or table is adjustably mounted to avoid a top-heavy condition.

This adjustment may be secured by having the ears 22 carried by a plate 25 and slidably mounting this plate on the under side of the body plate t as by a guide pin 26 operating in a slot 21 of the plate 4, a clamp screw 28 being employed for securing the plate at the desired adjustment. When the stand is folded into the compartment the cars 22 will preferably be moved to the lower end of the slot or guideway, as shown at 29, so as to provide ample room and clearance for the free end of the collapsed stand moving into the compartment II. In setting up the stand as above stated, the rack or table part will be shifted until the proper balance is obtained and thereafter the clampscrewZS tightened so as to provide a rigid structure.

The stand receiving compartment iI may be provided with a suitable closure to give access to the stand. According to the present disclosure the compartment is formed'by a pair of secondary cover sections 30 which are, like the main covers I and 2, pivotally carried by the body plate The hinge 3 may be utilized for supporting the secondary covers 30, or a separate hinge point may be provided as shown at 3|. The covers 39 are secured together in a suitable manner such as by a second slidable fastener 32.

From the foregoing it will be observed that the carrying case may be of standard size augmented by the added compartment H for housing and concealing the folded stand. This provides a case structure having a heavier base tending to support the case in an upright position as shown in Fig. 3 when resting on a surface. The case is opened and closed in a conventional manner and when it is desired to use the stand the secondary fastener 32 will serve to open the compartment I I so that the stand may be extended for its desired purpose. When the case is being used as a rack or table, the marginal wall 33 extends about its perimeter to provide a ledge forsupporting books, sheets and other articles on the stand against falling off. In some embodiments it may be desirable to make the table top i, 2, .4) unitary and rigid throughout with the stand receiving compartment I I arranged therebeneath, as in Fig 1. Should the table be of considerable expanse it may have two or more concealed stands adapted to be opened up and distended to form supporting standards. These plural stands may be arranged to properly support the table which latter may be angularly adjusted by the clamp screws 23.

The covers I and 2 may be those of a book or of a looseleaf binder, a file record, or the. like, wherein the covers will unfold to support the leaves. This is especially advantageous in the handling of a large record book, the folded stand being normally concealed within a chamber in its back and adapted to be let down for supporting the book. Consequently, the reference in the appended claims to a carrying case or to table is 7 made in a comprehensive manner and as'inclusive of books and like foldable cover constructions as well as flat tops wherein the invention maybe practiced. I

In the modified embodiment shown'in Figs. 4 and 5 the carrying case is provided with a removable handle carrying section 34 to which the handle 35 is attached. This section 34 ma .be de-' tachably connected to the covers I and 2' by a flexible slide fastener generally indicated at .36,

tire perimeter of the section 4 so as to be detachably connected to the free edges of the covers I' and 2' as well as across the body plate 4. With this arrangement, the rack or table formed by opening up the covers I and 2' will lie substantially fiat with the body plate 4' and be devoid of any upstanding marginal wall. However, and in order to properly support articles on the rack, a foldable ledge 31 may be hinged at 38 to each cover for unfolding to the position indicated by the broken lines 39. When the case is used as such, these ledges 31 will be folded against their respective covers. 1

The carrying case is of simple and practical construction and utilizes a stand of approved design, and while the foregoing description has been given in detail, it is obvious that the inventive principles may be incorporated in other physical forms without departing from the spirit of the invention and the scope defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A combination carrying case and stand therefor, comprising a central portion flanked on opposite sides by covers hinged thereto for folding to form a portfolio, the central portion having a chamber opening exteriorly of the closed portfolio, a supporting pedestal ollapsible for folding into the chamber, and means adjustably connecting the upper end of the pedestal to the central portion by which the latter may be adjusted to balance the case thereon and may be readjusted to facilitate the folding of the collapsed pedestal into the chamber.

2. A combination carrying case and stand therefor, comprising a central portion flanked on opposite sides by covers hinged thereto for folding to form a case and adapted to open to form a table, the central portion having a cham ber opening downwardly, a supporting pedestal collapsible for folding into the chamber from beneath, and means adjustably connecting the upper end of the pedestal to the central portion for folding into the chamber, said adjustable means also enabling adjustable placement of the table on the pedestal when the device is used as a stand.

3. A combination carrying case and stand therefor, comprising a body portion flanked on opposite sides by covers hinged thereto for folding to form a closed case and adapted to be opened to form a rack, said body portion having a chamber, a rack supporting pedestal collapsible and foldable into the chamber, and means adjustably connecting the upper end of the pedestal to the body portion for folding into the chamber and enabling other adjustment to balance the rack on the pedestal when the device is used as a stand.

4. A carrying case having opposed covers hinged to a body portion for opening from a case forming position to a rack forming position, a collapsed stand folded into a chamber of the body portion and extensible to support the cover-- formed rack, and means connecting the rack on the'stand for adjustment to a balanced position.

5. A carrying case having opposed covers hinged to a body portion for opening from a case forming position to a rack forming position, a collapsed stand folded into a chamber of the body portion and extensible to support the coverformed rack, and a carrying section normally this fastener-preferably extending about the nconstituting a closure for the case and removable bodily to be free of the covers when the latter form the rack. REFERENCES CITED 6. A carrying case having opposed covers The following references are of record in the hinged to a body portion for opening from a case file of this Patent; forming position to a rack forming position, a 5 collapsed stand folded into a chamber of the body UNITED STATES PATENTS portion and extensible to support the cover- Number Name t formed rack, a slide fastener securing the covers 245,020 Rushforth Aug. 2, 1881 in a closed case forming position, and a second 1,325,164 Mowrey Dec. 16, 1919 slide fastener closing the chamber when the in 1,917,526 Kanclerz July 11, 1933 stand is therein. 2,156,489 Bonetti May 2, 1939 WILLIAM G, TULOWIECKI. 2,213,985 HOWe Sept. 10, 1940 

